How to Hurt - How to Heal
by Nitishu
Summary: Alois has always had a troubled life, but now... now he's been betrayed by the one person he swore he could always trust. Not knowing anyone else to call, he picks up the phone and dials his enemy/rival. Ciel Phantomhive. Cielois
1. The Pain of Betrayal

Chapter 1 The Pain of Betrayal

"C-Claude?" Alois was backing away from the tall and threatening demon until he hit the wall. "W-What's with that look?" The demon didn't say a word as he grabbed Alois' hands and held them above his head. "Look, I didn't really mean it! I was just-"

"Shut up." Alois found he couldn't speak anymore as his mouth was smothered in the demon's. He screamed as a cold hand went places Alois didn't want it to. Claude moved his head back to gaze at Alois coldly.

"C-Claude I order you to stop this! If you don't stop you're violating our contract!" The demon smirked.

"That's not _all_ I'm violating tonight _your highness._" Alois's screams were heard throughout his estate, and the demon triplets who already lived there simply ignored them while Hannah looked down in shame and continued cleaning as previously ordered.

* * *

Alois moved across the floor slowly, grabbing his side every meter or so. He was bleeding, but Claude had been _kind_ enough to make it so he wouldn't die yet. It wasn't enough to kill him, but enough to make him wish he was dead.

_Why Claude? I-I didn't… I didn't deserve that did I? _The betrayal of the one who had sworn never to do so… it cut deeper than the wound Ciel had given him by way of sword and deeper than… Alois shuddered; he didn't want to remember it. Any of it. _Not now._

Alois shakily and slowly climbed the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible as he emerged from the dark place Claude had left him in. The dark was horrible, and it only reminded him of the things in his past, the things he tried to forget. Claude made it worse.

_You w-were supposed to make it better Claude…_ He winced as he felt a huge pain shoot through his back. _I-It hurts…_ Tears streamed down his reluctant face though he tried to hold them back.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the shame he felt. The pain of betrayal, the pain of loss, the utter loneliness. There were _very_ few people he knew in the world, and the five who lived with were now dead to him.

_H-He's the only one left, but… should I even?_ Alois was always so sure of himself, but now…

He reached for the phone that he had been edging closer to now that he was upstairs and in the dim lighting; at least it wasn't the pitch black from before.

_No choice._ Alois dialed the operator and took one last calming breath.

"_Hello, operator, how can I-"_

"Ciel Phantomhive."

Super short chapter, just testing to see if anyone wants me to write it. Lemme know okay?


	2. The Kindness of an Enemy(?)

Chapter 2 The Kindness of an Enemy(?)

Ciel was eating yet another pie… that he hadn't cared to listen to the full description of. It was good though. He liked sweets. There was a knock on his office door.

"Come in." Sebastian came in with a strange smirk on his face, carrying the phone. "Yes?"

"_Alois Trancy_ is calling my lord." Ciel picked up the phone with a rather haughty attitude, expecting some sort of plea for life or some such worthless words.

"What do you want?"

"I wished to… t-to…" his voice broke and Alois just began crying.

Ciel jolted, knowing that the blonde would never ever willingly show weakness. He wondered absently why he cared, but maybe it was only because _he_ wanted to be the one to make the blonde upset? To be the sole cause of his pain? Or was it...

"Alois… tell me what's wrong. Why have you called me?"

His tone was almost caring even though rather sharp. _Ciel wasn't used to showing any sort of even _slight _sympathy. _Alois shook his head though he knew Ciel couldn't see him.

"F-Forget it… I-I mean… Can I come stay w-with you for a bit? I-I need a place to stay…" He trailed off and began crying again. Ciel was silent for a moment and Alois was about to take it back and pretend he was joking.

"…I'll send Sebastian for you."

"R-Really?" Alois's voice was full of hope and yet disbelief. "T-That's… thank you." Ciel hung up and called Sebastian in to explain the situation as best he could.

"Yes… are you planning to trap him?

"No, we aren't trapping him to take immediate revenge while he is weak. That would be cowardly."

"But my young Master-"

"Don't question me Sebastian. This is an order, bring Alois Trancy here unharmed." He bowed and even though he looked irritated (he failed to hide it) he left to do his Master's bidding.

_Sure it's an opportunity, but I am nothing if I am a coward. I'll at least try to find out what has that ridiculous boy so upset._ He nodded to himself, glad he had figured it out. His (exposed) eye twitched in irritation as he heard a surprised yelp and some crashing. _Useless servants._

* * *

Ciel had worked hard to maintain his mask of indifference. But for some reason the rage he tried to hold back came out when he saw Sebastian carry in a dirty, bloody and battered Alois Trancy.

"What did you do?! What happened to Alois?! I thought I told you to-" Sebastian jolted while Alois, who was barely hanging onto consciousness and was unable to fight _being in the demon's arms_, wondered if Ciel actually cared or…

"It wasn't me; I would never disobey you _my lord_." At this Alois tensed and tried to wriggle away from Sebastian until Ciel ordered Sebastian to put him down.

Alois freaked out and squirmed around on the floor. He scooted away from the demon until he reached a surprised Ciel and held onto his pants leg for dear life.

_I really wish I knew his deal, but I know that look… he's been traumatized._ And oh how Ciel wished he didn't know that look. That he had never seen it in his own eyes in the past.

"Sebastian, did you see Claude?" That name. That _accursed name_.

Alois screamed and curled up into a ball while shaking and crying. Ciel looked very confused, and failed in his attempt to hide it. Ciel didn't see Sebastian's eyes widening for a split second as something clicked in his mind and it all made sense.

"Sebastian," Ciel spoke once more "go draw a bath. He's filthy." Sebastian bowed and left with a nearly undetectable scowl. "Hey." Ciel turned to the blonde on the ground. "Can you stand up?"

Once he registered what was said he nodded solely from pride. He steadied himself and promptly fell down. Ciel sighed and internally face-palmed. He wondered why he even cared to help his enemy, the one he wanted so desperately to kill not even a month ago.

He wondered even more so why he cared enough to practically carry him to the bathroom.

- HTHHTH -

Ciel walked Alois to the large bathroom with an eye twitching in irritation as Mey Rin stared at them and looked as if she wanted to say something but was afraid to… and then dropped something while muttering 'oh dear' repeatedly.

Once in the bathroom Ciel pushed Alois off of him and towards Sebastian making him stumble and shiver as he looked back at the eye-patched preteen.

"Sebastian, would you mind cleaning him up?" Sebastian was about to agree and took a step towards Alois, when the blonde freaked out and turned to try and run away.

Ciel soon found out he had some sort of excruciating lower back pain as he convulsed and fell to the ground. He might have laughed and made a snide comment had he not seen more blood pouring from his rival's body. Somehow it seemed… _wrong_.

"Sebastian, you can go now." Ciel easily picked up on the fact that the broken blonde was not thrilled with his butler.

"B… yes, my lord." Sebastian planned on objecting but then thought better of it. It was best _not_ to question your Lord and Master.

He walked out with a glance back in their direction worried that the blonde might be up to something… though in his state he was unlikely to cause much harm.

Ciel refrained from rolling his eye as he helped the boy sit up reluctantly. Alois whimpered and Ciel sighed.

"Look, you obviously can't clean yourself and you're too filthy for me to accept you sleeping in any of my beds. You're going to have to deal with me washing you off." His tone was blunt, some words sharp and clipped… but at the same time he was confused. _Why am I doing this? Why?_

"I… sorry."

Alois limply lifted his arms so Ciel could take off his ripped shirt, and the raven internally choked at the bruises and long cuts on his pale flesh. The blonde looked away as Ciel unbuttoned his pants, but flinched and tensed when he pulled them down.

"…I'm not removing your underwear." Alois couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as Ciel finished and moved him (not without trouble) to the water.

Easing him into the warm water, Ciel noticed his muscles tense and relax repeatedly as blood came off of him and seemed to disappear into the water before tinting it pink. Trying his best to ignore the pink color, Ciel ran fresh water over his body while avoiding touching his skin as much as he could.

_Why am I doing this? __**So he doesn't ruin your guest room and so he's more comfortable.**__ I can always buy new sheets and burn the old, and why do I care for his comfort anyway?_ Internal arguments _sucked_.

Alois, with half-lidded eyes, kept looking at Ciel and refraining from asking why he's doing it, he just tried to concentrate on how thankful he was for the _out of place help_.

_I don't know if he's doing this so he can harm me himself later, or to keep me alive to t-torture me, but… it hurts so badly and I-I…_ He had nowhere else to turn.

Tears streamed down his face in silence and Ciel unconsciously kept on giving him the same look. Not the normal one he wore of cold detachment, but a strange new one of confusion and what might be a hint of sadness.

Now Alois's wounds seemed to be cleaned and healing over, so why was he bleeding more than he should? More than what was anywhere near healthy?

"I-I… _Ciel, I-"_ Whatever he was going to say began to torment Ciel internally as Alois slipped into unconsciousness.

Ciel would later say he fainted from low pain tolerance.

Chapters will most likely be longer after this one, or at least I'll try my bestest 'kay?

Wallflower: Geez dude, get an account! I want to thank you properly! You're an awesome reviewer!

P.S. I like angst. So sue me. _It's fun._

~Forgiven: By Skillet~ Song of the chapter.


	3. Duels and Secret Deals

Chapter 3 Duels and Secret Deals

That duel changed everything.

Ever since after that time when they dueled, since Alois told him he wasn't 'Alois' and asked him to spare him. Even though he hadn't planned to, Sebastian stopping him kept him from doing something he soon realized he would have regretted forever. Since then Ciel had a strange sense of caring for the boy. He had no idea what to call it; he just knew that he actually cared what happened to him unlike everyone else he felt he would be alright with burning.

He hated that about himself. Ciel _hated_ the contradiction. He questioned and argued with himself while trying to keep his mask of indifference as best he could. Luckily, none of his servants asked him about it. (He radiated a cold detachment that threatened punishment if they spoke to him for no acceptable reason.)

* * *

Ciel had told Sebastian to put him the boy a guest room but he didn't like the look Sebastian was giving him or the look he was giving Alois. Luckily the blonde had fainted and couldn't get mad that Sebastian was carrying him.

Ciel figure he would have freaked, but the younger raven simply could not carry his limp body.

-HTHHTH-

Alois woke up in the middle of the night and let out a blood curdling scream that had Ciel (from one room over) running into his room with a candle even though he was half asleep. And when he saw Ciel his tears didn't stop though he tried to make them.

"What's wrong?"

"I-It's so dark… s-so dark…" Alois was curled up in a ball and shuddering even though he was in pain from the movement. Seeing that the blond wasn't in imminent danger, Ciel sighed and placed the candle on the nightstand, lighting up the side of the bed better, along with the trauma victim.

"There. Goodnight Alo-" he couldn't finish or walk away since the blonde had grabbed his white pajama sleeve lightly and begged him with his eyes not to leave.

He sat on the side of the bed, unable to deny him for some odd reason. The blonde blinked several times before finally letting go of his sleeve and smiling faintly.

"T-Thanks." There was a moment of silence.

"…How are you feeling?" It was painfully obvious Ciel had trouble asking the sensitive question.

"I've been better." Alois hoarsely croaked in an attempt to joke, even as he winced when trying to sit up.

"Stop it." Ciel gently but firmly pushed the blonde back into the bed. "Don't you _dare_ hurt yourself more when you come to me asking for help. I don't finish things halfway, and so I'm not about to let you die on me, got it?"

"S-Sorry." Alois lay back down and stared at Ciel as he grumpily sat in a chair by the guest bed. "Thank you… Ciel." He wiped his tears away and gave the bluenette a small smile that melted his heart.

"Whatever." Of course, he couldn't just _tell _the blonde that. Instead he simply stopped scowling and looked away from Alois's face.

Neither of them noticed Sebastian glare at them through the door with glowing red eyes before leaving to make a… _call_.

* * *

Sebastian walked through the doors of the Trancy household with an angry expression unbefitting of the usually calm and collected demon.

"Faustus! I know you're here, I can _smell _you." Suddenly the spider fell down from the ceiling with a small frown.

"How are you this e-" Claude's glasses flew off his face as Sebastian slapped him painfully. For a demon, that's something. "I see we're getting right to the point then."

"How _dare _you? We had a deal!"

"I was getting hungry Michaelis… you know the feeling." He brushed his bangs back and looked at Sebastian with half-lidded eyes. "Aren't you at least _a little_?" Sebastian blinked twice before smirking.

"You know as well as I nothing fills the void better than a human soul." Claude pouted before putting his face dangerously close to Sebastian's.

"But there is a close second." Sebastian glared at him and grabbed the sides of his face forcefully.

"You will regret this." He deadpanned before mashing his lips against Claude's and beginning to prove once more that _the crow was stronger than the spider_.

* * *

It wasn't the first time Ciel had woke up uncomfortably, but it was the first time in a long time that he woke up in a chair… and the first time in and even _longer_ time that Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.

_If he didn't wake me up, then what did?_ The sun had still only just broken the horizon.

He listened for a moment to see if he could hear his useless servants crashing around, or something like that… but he heard nothing. He waited for another moment and his ears finally picked up something unusual.

His head shot to the side as he realized it was _crying_ and that is was coming from _Alois_. In his half-asleep state, Ciel hadn't even remembered why he was in a chair… he had almost completely forgotten that he had a 'guest' in the room.

Quickly composing himself, he walked over to the bed and stared at Alois rather helplessly. The blonde was sweating and his cheeks were covered in tears as his pale form shook helplessly in what was likely fear. His hands were opening and clenching in the air as if trying to grab something, and his whole body simply kept shuddering as little whimpers came out of his mouth.

Had this not been Alois, Ciel would have laughed and compared him to a demented puppy. Instead, before his mind could realize his intent, his right hand gently touched Alois's. Alois then grabbed his hand with both of his and seemed to hold on for dear life as he shook.

His breathing slowly seemed to even out after a while and the whimpers ceased to escape. Ciel's eyes softened for a spilt second before they hid behind his mask of indifference once more. He was glad nobody had seen him being so… _weak_.

He removed Alois's hands from his gently and stepped back, _not_ watching the blonde sleep peacefully and _definitely __**not**_ thinking that his sleeping expression was adorable.

* * *

Ciel walked down the hallway, intent on finding at least _one_ of the idiots who worked for him.

"Ah! Oh no! Watch out!" Ciel stared with indifference as Mey Rin struggled to carry much more than she should have been able to in the first place. "AH!" Yet another set of fine china crashed to the ground and she fell along with it and began to apologize.

"You are an idiot, why were you even carrying those around in the first place?"

"Well, you see Young Master, where they were sitting alone they looked so lonely, yes they did. So I thought that-"

"Well now they look dead." Her lip wavered as she looked down at them and sadly agreed. "Please find Bard and tell him that we'll be eating in the guest room." She perked up at the 'we.'

"We, sir?" Her eyes sparkled behind her glasses… somehow. "Is this about that stranger you brought here, yes is it?" His visible eye twitched and she backed up, losing her smile instantly.

"You will show Lord Trancy respect while he stays here Mey Rin. I expect the same of the others. Now go. Bring. Breakfast." She yelped.

"Yes sir!" She scampered off, forgetting about the broken china already.

"And don't break anything." She squealed another 'yes sir' before running into a wall and backing up before running around the corner to find Bard. _Useless_.

* * *

"Hey." Ciel's eye twitched when the lump in the bed simply rolled over instead of answering. "Hey!"

He stomped to the other side of the room before yanking the curtains on every window open and walking back to the bed and yanking the blankets off of Alois.

"Wake up!" Ciel nearly shouted.

The blonde shot up and he shivered as he looked around in confusion. He cried out in pain from moving so suddenly and Ciel scoffed.

"If you _don't _want to hurt yourself, I'd suggest not moving about like a hyperactive idiot. Breakfast is here, so eat up." He put the plate on the blonde's lap as he lay back against the headboard, and snickered when the blonde moved it off of his legs quickly with a yelp. "Careful, hot plate."

"Really? Hadn't noticed." The blonde glared at Ciel before something clicked in his mind. _He just gave me breakfast… in bed._ "T-Thank you." He mumbled as he took the silverware off of the plate and began to eat.

Ciel stared at the blonde put a sausage in his mouth, not bothering to cut it. It was completely impolite, but…

Ciel looked away, embarrassed he had caught himself staring at Alois's pink lips. The blonde didn't notice a thing of course; he was too focused on keeping the food down without throwing up. A fight he soon lost.

He slowly removed the covers from himself, walked to the bathroom, and silently emptied his stomach... and Sebastian was a human.

He all but fell off of the bed as he scurried to a trashcan and began to painfully heave what was left of his stomach into the receptacle. Ciel scrunched up his nose at the sight (and sound) of it, but nonetheless grabbed a small towel and threw it to the boy once he was done.

"I've lost my appetite now, thank you. Good day." The bluenette walked out of the room slowly, expecting to be yelled at for being rude or something or the sort.

"Thanks for the towel." _That_ was not what Ciel had expected. He whirled around to see the Trancy lad staring blankly at his hands as they shook.

Alois couldn't think straight, he couldn't even find a single reason why Ciel was letting him stay here and not killing him let alone a comeback or a reason to be rude to his savior. The blonde, believing that Ciel had already left, let his eyes fill with tears and pushed the trashcan away from himself as he shook.

He curled in on himself and held his knees as his small body shook with the force of his sobs he was obviously trying to keep quiet. Ciel didn't realize he had walked towards him until he realized he was right behind the boy. Unable to turn around or even have time to think about it, Ciel kneeled next to Alois.

The blonde jolted in shock when Ciel's hand rested on his shoulder. When he turned his head and looked at him, Ciel could tell he was trying with all his might to hold back the tears that had already been coming out. At first he had no idea what to say or do, but luckily (or unluckily) Alois spoke first.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to pity me. Y-You can ignore me if you want." _That's what everyone else does._ Ciel scoffed and removed his hand quickly. _I figured_. Alois thought with added depression. He figured he would, so why did it hurt?

"Just _how_ am I supposed to ignore someone crying in my home?" He huffed and then his tone suddenly softened to one that didn't sound very _Ciel_ at all. "I don't pity you, but you're allowed to cry. You have no need to apologize to me for getting hurt." Alois looked into his visible eye and his lips trembled as he looked at the bluenette, who was obviously not used to comforting people. At all.

"I… I-I…" Alois couldn't say any more than that which made Ciel lift his eyebrow in confusion.

Before Ciel could say anything, Alois broke out into hysterics once more and launched himself into Ciel who almost fell over. Ciel stopped kneeling and simply sat down, so as not to fall over, and he simply watched as Alois's hands grabbed at his shirt and he seemed to curl up in his lap.

Ciel tried several times to say something, but every time he failed he noticed his shirt getting wetter and his heart clenching harder. Unconsciously, somewhere deep down in his mind, he vowed that the imbecile who _dared_ harm Alois would pay. Dearly.

**ashira23**: Thank you! It can only get better right?

**I'm Watching You**: Angst is a dish best served with a side of comfort, wouldn't you agree?

**Wallflower**: Oh, that's understandable. Let me know when you do though!

I'm going to have to up this to M now before I forget. It's going to get really messy with flashbacks and shit soon.

Also, I spent an ass-ton of time on the cover photo so I hope it turned out better than I think it did.

~Forgiven: By Sanctus Real~ (Totally different from previous chapter specific song btw.)


	4. Magical Flying Tables

Chapter 4 Magical Flying Tables

"Young Master, I-" Sebastian had walked into the room and was about to apologize for being late, when he saw said Master half-holding his rival, though the blonde looked to be doing most of the holding.

Ciel barely had one hand out in case he fell, it had actually moved there while he had internally debated (read: argued like hell) as to whether or not it was acceptable to pat/rub someone on the back or not when they were crying. Therefore, it stayed in place like it was leaning on an invisible table until Sebastian came in… then it fell to his side.

"Where were you?" Ciel's tone was sharp and demanding, but the demon's sensitive ears easily picked up on the sadness hidden under annoyance. "I had to ask that clumsy maid to fetch our breakfast, and Bard burnt it!"

"I was taking care of some business my lord." Alois flinched and his grip grew tighter in Ciel's shirt.

_'C-Claude, w-wah why? Mmmph!' A piece of cloth was shoved into Alois's mouth harshly, pushed so far back it was making him gag and easily rendering him voiceless. _

_'This? You want to know why I'm doing this?' Claude continued impaling Alois as painfully as possible without killing him, making every muscle spasm in pain as he did so. He began to go faster, as if Alois hadn't been hurting enough. 'It's nothing personal, I'm simply not a patient being… it's just business your highness.' _

_Alois screamed out repeatedly through the gag, tears running down his face and his body bleeding in more places than he could count, the pain searing through him and making him wish he was dead a thousand times over._

_'Alois! Al- _

"-ois! ALOIS!"

Alois was finally snapped back to the present and realized that Ciel had his hands gripped firmly on his shoulders and his visible eye was wide open in what could only be fright… but that wasn't right, Ciel couldn't have been scared.

His head darted around; looking for any danger, but all he saw was Ciel. He had sent a reluctant Sebastian out of the room seconds after Alois began doing… whatever it was he was doing, because Ciel simply _knew_ it was Sebastian's fault.

Alois looked back at Ciel and choked a few times as he tried to make words come out, his head feeling extremely dizzy.

"S-So-r-rry… S-Sorry, I…" Alois was unable to bring any more words out as he began to sob and fell over limply, unable to catch himself. Ciel barely managed to catch his head so he didn't bang it on the hard wood floors and knock himself out.

There was nothing filling the room other than sobs before Ciel cursed under his breath and used all of his strength to prop Alois up and pull him to the bed. The moment Alois finally caught on and realized what was happening, he managed to stand with Ciel's help and get on the bed.

_He could have just c-called…_ He couldn't even think the demon's name as he continued to cry _but he helped me himself… why?_

Ciel had gotten him on the bed, and honestly he had no idea of what else to do. What _do _you do when someone, who you barely know anything about, is sobbing uncontrollably right in front of you? More importantly, what do you do when someone you care about is so hurt?

He turned, about to walk away, and was stunned when a hand shot out of the blubbering mess and caught the back of his shirt before he got out of reach. He turned his head and looked at the blonde, about to instinctively say something condescending, when he saw his eyes.

Red and puffy, still leaking wet tears, almost totally hidden by the wet bangs that were plastered to Alois's face, were desperate eyes that said more to Ciel then any words the blonde could have spoken had he been able.

Ciel watched as Alois's eyes widened slightly and his hand let go slowly as he just realized what he did.

_I just grabbed him… why did I grab him? Why would he want to stay with me? That was stupid._ Those thoughts almost sent him into another fit of loud sobs, but before his hand fell, Ciel caught it and held it.

Alois stared, his sobs only slowing slightly from his surprise at his hand being held like that. It wasn't like when… _people_ gripped it, leaving him unable to move it, nor was it like when Luka would hold it and bounce around him lovingly. These were the only comparisons he had, but Ciel held it like it was something fragile. Like it would break if he held it any tighter yet he didn't want it to fall.

Ciel had no idea what to do with Alois's hand, he just knew he didn't want it to fall and hit the side of the bed. He eventually moved closer to the bed and began to place the limp hand next to Alois so it wouldn't fall.

He didn't notice that his expression remained mostly blank the entire time, but then again he was used to it remaining like that. Alois however noticed, and it confused him greatly. How you could act so... so _kind_ and yet remain emotionless was a mystery.

So was it really kindness at all, or just Ciel's pride not letting a guest suffer and/or die?

Ciel let go of his hand and blinked in confusion when Alois's fingers twitched and tried to grab it back half-heartedly. He looked up at Alois's eyes and was confused even further.

_What does he want from me? He grabbed my back so I assume he wants me to stay, but why? _

"Do you need something Alois? If not, I have to-"

"P-Please don't leave..." He croaked. "At least until I f-fall asleep, don't leave." Ciel's visible eye widened for a second at his words.

Ciel knew now… at least somewhat. Back when Elizabeth broke his ring, he had felt like he lost so much even though it was just a ring and nothing more. He simply needed to feel like he wasn't alone in the world, to reaffirm that there was one being that would never leave or betray him.

"You aren't alone." Ciel sat on the edge of the bed and looked on as Alois's eyes widened in surprise.

Ciel put his hand gently on a part of Alois's chest that wasn't wounded, that had no bandage. Over his heart.

"You will never be completely alone in the world; there will always be someone who cares about you." _I don't know much about you or your life; but I have Sebastian, three idiots who work for me, my cousin and her family… there are things you tend to forget when you panic._

Alois nodded slowly, though on the inside he knew Ciel was wrong. Everyone he had was either dead or had betrayed him. But for now he would pretend, for now he would forget everything except for the hand above his heart. _The hand of someone who he could pretend actually cared._

* * *

Ciel had actually waited a full ten minutes after Alois was asleep. He couldn't even explain to himself why he wasn't getting even the slightest bit bored at watching the tears dry on his face leaving sparkling trails of…

He shook his head and got off of the bed slowly. He walked towards the door.

_This isn't right. What the hell am I doing?_ He heard a crash somewhere nearby and spun around to see if it had woken Alois. It hadn't. So, with an internal sigh of relief, he turned around and went to give whoever made that sound hell.

- HTHHTH -

"What do you think you're doing?" Ciel snapped at Finny and Bard.

"We was just rearrangin' the furniture's all." Bard scratched the back of his head. Finny nodded with a very ashamed expression on his face.

"And so you thought that the table would look nicer, oh I don't know, _outside and smashed to pieces?_ Just what were you thinking?" Sure enough, there was even a scuff mark trail from where the table had dragged its legs before flying out the window.

"I was sure to be gentle! Just like Mister Sebastian told me to! I think the table just wanted to fly like a birdy or-" a very evil aura came up behind him and Bard, immediately making them shudder and turn around slowly.

"Pray tell how throwing a table out the window qualifies as 'gentle.'" Sebastian spoke with an utterly fake smile while still exuding an aura of anger.

"Oh, well you see… I mean I…"

"Go clean it up."

"Yes sir!" "Right away sir!" Both boys exclaimed at the same time before running off, both to clean up and to avoid death.

Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers in irritation. Sebastian pretended not to notice his obvious annoyance and removed his evil aura in order to act the part of his 'I'm simply on hell of a butler' routine for his Master.

"Young Master, can I get you something to eat? Perhaps some sweets from-"

"I'm not hungry." Ciel turned and walked away, not noticing Sebastian's eyes flash a brighter red even though his smile remained.

"Of course sir." _Not hungry? He is __**always**__ hungry for something with sugar in it._ Had Sebastian not had better control of his emotions… _if that spider ruined my chances for a delicious soul simply because he could not keep his 'appetite' quiet, I will __**never**__ forgive him._

Never was a long time for demons. It was nearly an eternity.

* * *

The days went by; Sebastian occasionally disappearing and foolishly thinking Ciel didn't notice, the servants acting completely un-servant-y, Alois slowly healing physically but mentally remaining scarred as he held it all in.

Soon two weeks had passed and Alois's wounds were healed enough that he could move about and talk with ease. Ciel was getting irritated because it was easy to like a silent person, but it was really hard to get along with someone who constantly spoke about random things, hopping from topic to topic like a frog on lily pads. Worst of all, the blonde wouldn't leave the room.

"Alois… it's been two weeks. You need to leave the room sometime." The blonde shrunk into the blankets as if they would protect him from the world.

"Why? I'm fine in here aren't I?" Ciel held in a sigh.

"Do you honestly want to spend the rest of your life in a bed, isolated from the world?"

"…yes?" The bluenette's visible eye twitched and he mentally argued with himself that yelling and yanking Alois off of the bed was _not_ the way to go.

"This is my house Trancy, and I don't want you cooped up in here. I don't know what's wrong because you won't tell me, but won't your family worry about you? Your servants? You haven't so much as called to… Alois?" The blonde had stiffened when Ciel reminded him that he had no idea what was wrong. All he knew was that he had been hurt by someone.

"I… do I have to? Will you kick me out if I don't leave the room? It's your house, I get it." His eyes were beginning to water, and not knowing what else to do to stop the tears, Ciel held a handkerchief right in front of his face.

"I won't kick you out… but you have to do something for me in return." Alois wiped his face off and held in his tears as best he could. He nodded and waited for Ciel to continue. "Will you tell me what happened? Please?" He added as a reluctant afterthought, not very used to asking favors politely or otherwise.

Alois swallowed audibly and looked down at the sheets covering his legs. His hands clenched in the fabric as he tried to find words. It was a reasonable request; it was simply curiosity or something like that…

_But if I tell him, he'll be disgusted with me… he won't want anything to do with me ever again. I'm a disgrace._ A tear fell out of Alois's right eye and he blinked it away quickly, trying not to let it show.

"I got hurt." He stated emotionlessly as he shuddered. Ciel suddenly bopped him on the head making him jerk his head so that he could look Ciel eye to eye (and eye patch) while grabbing his head. "What the hell was that for?"

"I already _know_ you were hurt Alois. I'm the one who cleaned you off, remember?"

The blonde's face heated up as he remembered the night he had arrived. The memory was hazy, but he couldn't forget the way Ciel's hands gently washed off his skin and… he shuddered and Ciel mistook it for a cringe of disgust.

"Sorry." Ciel scoffed and sat down on the side of the bed, no longer patient enough to stand waiting for him to continue. "I… was hurt bad?" Ciel refrained from hitting him again.

"Alois… I want to know _who_ more than _what_ or _how_ right now." There was a pause and silence for a minute.

"Why?" Alois breathed. "Why do you care who?" Ciel's fist clenched at his side, not visible to Alois.

"Because they won't get away with it, that's why." He tried to keep his mask of indifference up, but his voice wavered slightly. "As the loyal servant to the queen I am, I can't have someone running around in our great country hurting _children_." Alois scoffed.

"You're a child too." _And you're shorter than I am, so don't call me a child._ He silently grumbled.

"Stop changing the subject. Who did it? Did you get a good look at them, or-" knowing it wasn't going to drop, Alois decided to rip it off like a Band-Aid.

"It was Claude, okay? Claude betrayed me, h-he…" Alois thought that spitting it out quickly would make it hurt less, but the words made him remember… and there are some things you just want to forget. He broke down in tears.

"He… what?" Ciel's mind began swimming. The demon Alois held a Faustian Contract with… _betrayed him_? How was that even possible? "Didn't you order him to stop?" Alois began to cry harder and Ciel wondered how so many tears could some out of such a small boy. (Even if Alois _was_ bigger than him.)

_I said stop… I __**ordered**__ him to stop… he didn't stop, he wouldn't… h-he didn't stop._ Alois began to space out and stared at nothing for only a second before Ciel grabbed his shoulders. He knew now when the blonde was beginning to freak out.

"Alois. Calm down. You aren't there anymore; you're safe… with me." He added quietly.

The blonde nodded slowly and once again found himself staring at Ciel, wanting a hug but being too afraid to ask. The shorter of the two seemed to finally figure it out this time. The blonde was staring at his chest in particular, where he had curled up the first few days unconsciously.

Ciel moved so he was leaning against the backboard, confusing Alois as to why he moved until he sighed and opened his arms invitingly. The blonde stared at him in shock, not moving, and left Ciel with his arms half-lifted and feeling really stupid.

"Did you want a hug or not?" _I never can figure you out… idiot._ Ciel was surprised when a few more tears came from Alois's eyes and he crawled into the bluenette's lap. He wound his arms around Ciel's back and lay his head on his chest with a small sigh of happiness he didn't realize he let out.

Ciel looked at the blonde, secretly happy it wasn't too hard to please him. His own arms found their way around Alois, basically completing their first hug. Alois's smile was hidden, but it was there all the same.

_Thank you Ciel… just, thank you._

~How Do You Love Someone: By Ashley Tisdale~

**Guest: **Indeed. Poor Alois. But you can't have hurt/comfort without the hurt, and I'm simply the type of person who _loves_ writing this stuff. So sue me.

**Seishin No Za Tsuki: **REALLY? _You _like _Hurt/Comfort_? Who would have thought that?! XP I miss you too sweetie, and yeah I love Sanctus Real.

**I'm Watching You: **That name's _still_ creepy you know. Thank you, I'm glad you like it ^ ^

**Wallflower:** Aww, thanks! I like putting up songs and it's nice to know people actually look them up or know of them and stuff XD I'm also glad you like my writing, it makes me happy when people say stuff like that ^u^ (And thank you for your review on Demonology as well!)

**Orange Pulp Juice:** No need to beg sweetie, I just forgot a little… I was working on the sequel to my other story and for some reason I just like that more *shrugs*


	5. Plans Are Made

Chapter 5 Plans Are Made

A demon's anger was formidable, and would scare most humans _literally _to death. A demon's _rage_… that was something nobody, mortal or otherwise, would want to be near.

Sebastian had walked in on Ciel and Alois and found them snuggling while taking a nap. _Snuggling_!

"And you're sure they were snuggling?" Claude asked once more with a slightly amused tone.

"Wipe that smirk off of your face this instant _Baal_. I do not find this amusing in the slightest." Had Sebastian been yelling, it might have seemed less intimidating than how he spoke with such a creepy tone. The spider unwillingly shivered a bit.

"It's been a long time since anyone's called me by that name _Malphas._" Sebastian suddenly slapped Claude across the face with a force that would have sent any human flying across the room, but only made the demon stagger before glaring at him.

"You have _no right_ to address me as such. Hearing my true name from your lips… it's despicable." Claude's yellow eyes shimmered.

"Awww, and I thought we were _friends _Crow." Sebastian glared at him.

"_Friends _don't ruin work that has taken their _friend_ years to complete. _Friends _don't-"

"Friends don't have sex either… so what does that make us?" Oh Claude, trying to seduce Sebastian in such an angered state was _not_ a good idea.

"Symbiotic acquaintances." Claude seemed to pout as Sebastian kept his angry face on. "We have to fix this. _Now_. Before it gets any worse."

"And how? It seems like your little bocchan is getting attached to my little plaything." Claude once more felt pain, but this time it was a slice going across his cheek from a thrown knife he hadn't even noticed being drawn.

"I suggest you think of something before I have to kill you."

Under normal circumstances Claude would have called him out on that, taken the challenge. Under normal circumstances he would have been certain that a demonic prince would _never _kill another demon of noble descent. These were not normal circumstances, and an angry demon was a foolish one. One that would break any and all rules necessary to satisfy themselves.

* * *

"Where _is _he? He's starting to become nearly as incompetent at those other-" he heard a crash and shook his head "never mind. _Nobody _can be as incompetent as those buffoons." Alois slowly nodded in agreement.

Though he didn't know the people who worked for Ciel, they certainly did seem incompetent...

"If they are so useless, then why do you let them stay? Don't they always break your things?" Ciel sighed.

"They have their strengths… and admittedly have grown on me somewhat. Get to know someone long enough and you either completely hate them or you just can't get rid of them." _You're the latter._

Ciel had opened up much more than he expected to with Alois. He simply felt at ease with the blonde. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like he could say almost anything. Sure the blonde might tease him about certain things or take them out of context to make a joke, but that was part of the 'Alois-ness' that made him unique.

"I understand that I suppose… I had a friend I called 'brother' long ago, and I loved him w-with all my heart too." Ciel nodded slowly, wishing he could smile reassuringly. Wishing he could tell Alois that he really cared and that he was sorry.

- HTHHTH -

"So are you going to leave the room today?" Alois seemed to contemplate Ciel's question this time, which led the shorter of the two to realize he might actually listen to him this time. "You could go out to the gardens or simply walk around the house for a little while. It's no good to stay cooped up in here, bad for your health. You _do_ want to get better don't you?" Alois reluctantly nodded.

_But if I get better… will you make me leave?_ Alois wondered.

"If you want, I'll walk with you." The blonde perked up and got out of the bed with a smile. "Good. Now let me go get you something _other_ than pajamas." The blonde's face went slightly pink as he remembered he was still wearing one of Ciel's long sleeved nightshirts and was in his underwear.

- HTHHTH -

It was strange to walk around after barely moving about for weeks on end. Alois had only gotten up to use the restroom, which was connected to his room so he didn't even have to leave the area.

Not too long into their journey around the house, Alois claimed he was feeling dizzy and leaned against the wall as he walked for a minute.

"Here, just lean on me. It'll be easier." Ciel couldn't look Alois in the eye as he offered, so he didn't get to see the blonde's downright giddy reaction.

_Plan huggle my… whatever our relationship status is, is a success!_ He internally fist pumped as Ciel led him back to the room, cutting their tour short.

Mey Rin happened to see them and saw how Alois had his head on Ciel's shoulder and saw Ciel's arm wrapped around his waist for support. From her angle it simply looked like they were openly walking around with some sort of affection for each other.

Her nose bled slightly and her glasses steamed up as she looked away.

"I was having bad perverted thoughts, yes I was." She muttered to herself. "Not befitting of a lady to think such things of her young Master, no it isn't." _He does seem happier with him than with Lady Elizabeth though… _"Oh, bad thoughts again! Shame!"Yet her face became bright red and she somehow changed her thoughts to Sebastian holding her up while her head rested on his shoulder and he looked at her and-

She passed out and instead of seeing stars, saw little Sebastians running/floating around her head along with hearts. It was quite creepy really…

Somewhere, Sebastian shuddered. (Demon sensitivity…)

* * *

"Hey." Ciel walked into the room Alois had been staying for over a month. He internally refused to call it 'his room' because he believed the blonde would leave as soon as he could.

"Hi." The blonde sat up quickly and Ciel blinked before smirking.

"I take it getting up that quickly means you're all better?" Alois tensed up and nodded stiffly before shedding a tear unwillingly. Ciel's breath caught in his throat as he sat on the edge on the bed.

"Alois, are you okay? Are you having another episode?" Ciel's voice was laced with genuine worry, and the blonde relaxed and shook his head which made Ciel relax as well.

"No." Ciel refrained from throwing his hands up in frustration as he waited for him to continue. "I'm just scared." Ciel gently placed a hand on Alois's knee making him shiver, but not from fear. It was reassuring and gentle… and obviously not an attempt to seduce him.

"Why are you scared? Did something happen? You can tell me." The blonde shed a few more tears as he nodded.

"I just… since I'm better, are you going to kick me out? I… you said I was staying here because you wouldn't let someone who came to you for help d-die, but-"

"You are not leaving!" Ciel snapped. "As far as _I_ know, you have nowhere to stay, and I'll be damned into _another _sort of hell if I send you back to that imbecile!" He bit his lip as he tried to calm himself. "I've already asked Sebastian to find Claude and kill him… I know you didn't ask me to, but I did anyway. Once I'm sure that's all taken care of appropriately, then you're free to do as you will." Alois was stunned.

Ciel had sent Sebastian to kill Claude? Was that him doing a favor or... what? Alois gently put his fingers on the back of Ciel's hand to get his attention, and to Ciel's secret delight didn't remove them once he had it.

"You'll let me… do what I want?" Ciel nodded with a confused expression.

"What, that eager to leave?" Alois shook his head and bounced up to hug Ciel tighter than the bluenette was used to.

"No," he whispered "just know that I'm going to bug you forever now." Ciel hated himself for stuttering.

"You want to stay? W-Why?" Alois backed up and released him with a pout.

"I can't?"

"No! I mean, yes you can, that's not what I meant, I mean… why?" _Curse you semantics! _

"Because… I want to stay with y- here. I want to stay here."

Ciel could have _sworn_ he was about to say 'you' but even if he _was _about to say that, he had no proof. Ciel nodded briskly and stood up, Alois's hand sliding off of his as he did so.

"W-Wait!" Alois got out of the bed and stumbled after Ciel who had almost walked through the door.

Ciel was about to ask Alois why he had to wait, but when he turned Alois tripped and in a very cliché manner, their lips met. Ciel knew it was an accident, and so he wanted to pull away. Alois knew Ciel didn't want to kiss him, so he wanted to pull away.

Why they stayed still and made no attempt to do so was a mystery to both of them. After a minute Ciel's senses finally caught up to him and he pushed Alois off of his person before turning around and hiding his flushed expression.

"Sorry about that." He then walked away and was completely ignorant to the blonde falling to his knees, absently touching his lips while crying.

_Ciel… why? Why didn't you pull away? Why did you say 'sorry' Ciel?_

What Alois didn't see through his tears, and Ciel didn't see during his race… er, sorry, 'calm walk' to his room next door, was Sebastian. Sebastian had seen the whole thing and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.

_This needs to be fixed. __**Now**__._

~Blown Away: By Carrie Underwood~

~It's Not Me, It's You: By Skillet~

FOLLOW ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE MY MINIONS! WAHAHAHAHHAA!  
(If you want to live with my stories, that is. I won't kill you.)

PCK: I will!

*waggles finger* now what have I told you about that?

PCK: *sighs* No killing without your permission.

Good girl.

**TheMoonAndStarsLove:** Thank you for that XD

**Orange Pulp Juice: ***fakes pain to chest* Quit? NEVER!

**Sophia Likes Sweets:** Really? YAY! I try so hard T_T


	6. Devious Deceptions

Chapter 6 Devious Deceptions

"Sebastian, this isn't amusing in the slightest." Ciel was having trouble controlling his emotions as his butler's eyes feigned sincerity and yet had all but convinced him.

"I am not joking Young Master. When have I ever lied to you?" Ciel blinked and nodded. Sebastian was right, he had never lied… to his knowledge. "I swear to you that Alois Trancy is going to betray your trust. He's been tricking you this whole time, making you give him information." Ciel's fingers twitched under his desk.

"But he-"

"Young Master." His voice was stern, almost as if _he_ was in control. Ciel didn't like it one bit. "For your sake, I would like to recommend you not go near the boy until you realize the truth. My apologies, I know you seemed _fond_ of the boy." His tone suggested teasing, and Ciel _hated_ that.

"No that's ridiculous; this is the boy who killed my family! You've said so yourself!" _But still, wouldn't he have been too young to… No, Sebastian would never lie to me! Right? C-Claude lied to Alois, and…_ Oblivious to his internal conflict, Sebastian nodded. "And how is the search for Claude going?"

"It is… not doing so well I'm afraid sir."

"Well then Sebastian, I order you to _stop wasting time and find him!_" Sebastian bowed and rushed off with a slight bit of confusion.

Was this still for the Trancy boy or personal revenge? He shook his head in mid-air, Ciel was convinced. He could see it in the boy's expression. He smirked and continued on his way.

* * *

_He's going to betray you. He's been tricking you. Do not go near him._ These words rang in Ciel's ears as he stood outside Alois's door. He _always_ came around this time. If he didn't, then Alois would worry.

He shook his head, why did he care if he worried? Wasn't that why he was here? To not care? Ciel lightly touched the dagger in his pocket before opening the door with his usual expression on nonchalance. It soon changed to a bright blush.

Alois had his hips up in the air as he was looking under the bed for some reason. He seemed to be reaching for something as his back twitched and he grunted in an effort. Ciel willed away his blush as best he could before clearing his throat.

Alois jolted and hit his head on the bottom of the bed before backing out while holding it in pain.

"What the hell Ciel, don't you knock?!" Ciel smirked, blush completely gone.

"My house. I don't _have_ to knock." The blonde frowned and Ciel's smirk fell as he remembered this wasn't a visit for pleasure.

How? How could he have come in with such a straight mindset and have it switched so suddenly simply by being in the presence of the blonde idiot?

"Yoo-hoo? Ci-Ci? Wake up~" Ciel jumped back when he realized Alois had been waving his hand in front of his face. "Awww, did I scare you? What's wrong?" The bluenette's expression became serious again and Alois's grin wavered. "Ciel?"

"Sit down Alois."

"C-Ciel, you're scaring me…" Ciel had to use every bit of willpower he had to _not_ apologize and hug the blonde while reassuring him everything was alright… every bit.

"Alois."

The blonde bit his lip and sat on a chair without armrests, looking up at Ciel in confusion and fear, but without tears. Ciel stood in front of him with his arms to his sides, searching him for any sign of guilt or anger whatsoever.

"What's wrong?" He breathed, snapping Ciel back into the present once more. Why did it have to be so hard?

"Alois…" he kept his hand near his pocket just in case "are you here to betray me?" Alois's eyes widened. "Did you call me and ask to stay to get closer to me?"

"W-Who told you that?" Ciel whipped out the dagger and Alois's eyes widened in fear.

"Answer me. Are you here to hurt me?" Tears began to run down Alois's face as he shook and spread his arms to the side.

"I-If you don't believe me w-when I say I never want to hurt you again… then go ahead and kill me." He sniffed and continued to cry while speaking. "I-I don't want to be alone again, y-you're all I have… you're the only one who cares even a little, and I..."

He squinted his eyes shut and waited to be stabbed in the heart, because no matter what he said, he was still not much more than a stranger right? Nothing more than a burden to the great Ciel? He heard a clattering sound and opened his right eye slightly to see that Ciel had thrown the dagger across the room and fell to his knees in front of Alois.

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry. I should have known you wouldn't… I am a fool." Ciel hung his head. If Alois _did_ want to kill him, then he would have pleaded for life right? Not surrendered himself because he had nothing to lose.

Alois didn't stop crying, but pushed the chair back and fell on the floor in front of Ciel before grabbing him into a hug that he hadn't expected. The blonde clenched his hands in the back of his shirt while sobbing.

"I-I don't… I-I don't know how… what you think… I…" He couldn't choke out a proper sentence as Ciel hesitantly rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"Alois, I don't care about you a little… I care about you a lot, and that scares me." He felt the blonde tense up in his arms. "It scares me because I've forgotten how to care for people… forgotten how to smile. Things like that I've lost… You can't get back what you've lost. Once you lose something you can never truly have it back again." Alois shook his head and backed up to look Ciel in the face as he lifted his eye patch and the bluenette didn't even try to stop him.

"No. You can't get back what you've lost. I know that. Once you lose something you can never truly have it back again. But what do you have now? Focus on what you have NOW and don't look back. _Never look back…_" Ciel blinked in confusion, his other exposed eye adjusting to the light in the room.

It made sense… it made so much sense, but…

"What _do_ I have Trancy? I thought that no matter what I lost, I would have Sebastian until the day he took my soul," he didn't miss the shudder that came from Alois at that "but I know now that I was wrong… I have nothing, nothing to live for." Alois didn't ask if it was Sebastian that fed him those lies, he could tell… he just _knew_.

"Y-You're wrong Ciel." Ciel blinked in confusion and looked at Alois with his deep blue eye and the fuzzy vision of his purple one. "As long as you want… you have me. Please don't make me leave you. You can have me…"

Ciel remained silent for so long that the blonde felt like he had been slapped. Like he was waiting for the imminent rejection.

"No." Alois's head fell down but Ciel caught it in his hands and lifted it back up. "We can have each other, _no matter how short our lives may be_." Alois found his lips caught in Ciel's and kissed him back chastely with every ounce of thankfulness, every bit of happiness, everything simply overflowing.

Ciel released his lips and embraced him warmly for several minutes. Until Alois stopped crying and fell asleep in his arms with a smile.

* * *

"We can't stay here Alois." The blonde bit his lip. He knew that, he did… but he wasn't happy with it all the same.

"But where can we even go? If _he _betrayed you, then we can only assume that he never hunted… that he…" Ciel held his hand to calm him.

"They can find us wherever we go, and that's why the only way to escape them… is to find a way to kill our demons." Alois stared at him. "What?"

"Are you fucking insane?!" Ciel smirked, the closest thing to a smile that ever graced his lips.

"A little."

This morning my sister roped me into doing my makeup and when she was almost done, do you know what she did? Asked me to close my eyes and open my mouth because apparently closing your eyes makes your lips shape differently for the application of lipstick. Then she put some on me. Then she squeezed a ton of sour candy into my mouth before I closed it and said, and I quote, "What the hell? What the hell was that?!" Her response? "Sour Candy." "NO SHIT!" T^T

~I Hate Everything About You: By Three Days Grace~

~This Song Saved My Life: By Simple Plan~


End file.
